ML16021A191

Request for Withholding Information from Public Disclosure for Duane Arnold Energy Center

ML16021A191
Person / Time
Site:	Duane Arnold
Issue date:	02/04/2016
From:	Mahesh Chawla Plant Licensing Branch III
To:	Vehec T NextEra Energy Duane Arnold
Chawla M, NRR-DORL 415-8371
References
CAC MF6617
Download: ML16021A191 (4)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 February 4, 2016 Mr.Thomas A. Vehec Vice President NextEra Energy Duane Arnold Energy Center 3277 DAEC Road Palo, IA 52324-9785

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE FOR DUANE ARNOLD ENERGY CENTER (CAC NO. MF6617)

Dear Mr. Vehec:

By letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) dated July 30, 2015 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML15253A310),

NextEra Energy Duane Arnold, LLC (the licensee) submitted a license amendment request (LAR) to revise and relocate pressure and temperature limit curves to a pressure and temperature limits report (PTLR).

By letter dated December 18, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15357A051), the licensee submitted an affidavit dated December 7, 2015, executed by Kurt Edsinger, Director, PWR and BWR Materials, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), requesting that the information contained in the following document be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.390:

Attachment 5 to Duane Arnold Energy Center Letter NG-15-0235 dated July 30, 2015 - FPL Energy Duane Arnold, LLC, Duane Arnold Energy Center, "Pressure and Temperature Limits Report (PTLR) for 32 and 54 Effective Full-Power Years (EFPY)"

A non-proprietary version of this document was provided as Attachment 6 of the July 30, 2015 submittal, and has been made publicly available at ADAMS Accession No. ML15253A311.

The affidavit stated that the submitted information should be considered exempt from mandatory public disclosure for the following reasons:

a. The Proprietary Information is owned by EPRI and has been held in confidence by EPRI. All entities accepting copies of the Proprietary Information do so subject to written agreements imposing an obligation upon the recipient to maintain the confidentiality of the Proprietary Information. The Proprietary Information is disclosed only to parties who agree, in writing, to preserve the confidentiality thereof.

b. EPRI considers the Proprietary Information contained therein to constitute trade secrets of EPRI. As such, EPRI holds the information in confidence and

T. Vehec disclosure thereof is strictly limited to individuals and entities who have agreed, in writing, to maintain the confidentiality of the Information.

c. The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary for the following reasons. EPRI made a substantial economic investment to develop the Proprietary Information and, by prohibiting public disclosure, EPRI derives an economic benefit in the form of licensing royalties and other additional fees from the confidential nature of the Proprietary Information. If the Proprietary Information were publicly available to consultants and/or other businesses providing services in the electric and/or nuclear power industry, they would be able to use the Proprietary Information for their own commercial benefit and profit and without expending the substantial economic resources required of EPRI to develop the Proprietary Information.

d. EPRl's classification of the Proprietary Information as trade secrets is justified by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act which California adopted in 1984 and a version of which has been adopted by over forty states. The California Uniform Trade Secrets Act, California Civil Code §§3426-3426.11, defines a "trade secret" as follows:

"Trade secret" means information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program device, method, technique or process, that:

( 1) Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to the public or to other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and (2) Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy."

e. The Proprietary Information contained therein are not generally known or available to the public. EPRI developed the information only after making a determination that the Proprietary Information was not available from public sources. EPRI made a substantial investment of both money and employee hours in the development of the Proprietary Information. EPRI was required to devote these resources and effort to derive the Proprietary Information. As a result of such effort and cost, both in terms of dollars spent and dedicated employee time, the Proprietary Information is highly valuable to EPRI.

f. A public disclosure of the Proprietary Information would be highly likely to cause substantial harm to EPRl's competitive position and the ability of EPRI to license the Proprietary Information both domestically and internationally. The Proprietary Information can only be acquired and/or duplicated by others using an equivalent investment of time and effort.

We have reviewed your application and the material in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 2.390 and, on the basis of the statements in the affidavit, have determined that the submitted information sought to be withheld contains proprietary commercial information and should be withheld from public disclosure. Therefore, the document identified above, marked as

T. Vehec proprietary, will be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390(b)(5) and Section 103(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

Withholding from public inspection shall not affect the right, if any, of persons properly and directly concerned to inspect the documents. If the need arises, we may send copies of this information to our consultants working in this area. We will, of course, ensure that the consultants have signed the appropriate agreements for handling proprietary information.

If the basis for withholding this information from public inspection should change in the future such that the information could then be made available for public inspection, you should promptly notify the NRC. You also should understand that the NRC may have cause to review this determination in the future, for example, if the scope of a Freedom of Information Act request includes your information. In all review situations, if the NRC makes a determination adverse to the above, you will be notified in advance of any public disclosure.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, I may be reached at 301-415-8371.

Sincerely, Mahesh Chawla, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 3-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-331 cc: Mr. Kurt Edsinger, Director PWR & BWR Materials Electric Power Research Institute 3420 Hillview Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94304-1338 Additional Distribution via Listserv

ML16021A191 OFFICE N RR/DORL/LPLI 11-1 /PM NRR/DORL/LPLI 11-1 /PM NRR/DORL/LPLlll-1/LA NAME ADietrich MChawla MHenderson DATE 1/21/2016 1/29/2016 1/22/2016 OFFICE N RR/DE/EVI B/BC NRR/DORL/LPLI 11-1 /BC N RR/DORL/LPLI 11-1 /PM NAME JMcHale DWrona MChawla DATE 2/02/2016 2/04/2016 2/04/2016